Dispensing closure having resilient fingers



June '15, 1965 N. .1. SMALLEY DISPENSING CLOSURE HAVING RESILIENT FINGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 31, 1964 FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG 4 INVENTOR. NED J. SMALLEY FIG. 5

AI'FORNEHS United States Patent 3,189,222 DISPENSING (ILOSURE HAVENG RESILTENT FINGERS Ned J. Smalley, Toledo, @hio, assignor to @WfililS-IllllilOlS Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 399,125 7 Claims. (Cl. 22122ll} This invention relates generally to a dispensing closure and more particularly to a closure adapted for use in removing pills, capsules, or other similar articles from containers.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial Number 321,103, filed Novemher 4, 1963, now abandoned and entitled Dispensing Closure Having Resilient Fingers.

All consumers are well aware of the difficulties involved in removing pills or capsules from a container. Most pill containers have too small a neck opening to permit the consumer to reach in and remove a pill. As a result, the consumer normally removes the closure and then inverts the container to pour out the pills. This frequently results in a greater number of pills being poured into the hand of the user than is desired. This, of course, destroys the sterility of the pills.

It is an object of this invention to provide a closure adapted to dispense pills, capsules, or similar articles.

Inasmuch as cost is a very important factor in determining the marketing success of a closure, it is a further object of this invention to provide a dispensing closure which will be economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings on which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view partly in section showing the closure of the present invention aflixed to a container with the section through the closure taken along line 11 of FIGURE 4-.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 showing the container inverted to cause the pills contained therein to flow toward the closure and showing the domed portion of the closure flexed toward the interior of the container to open up the depending grasping fingers,

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 showing the closure having a single pill engaged by the grasping fingers.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view looking into the interior of the closure.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional elevational view of a modified closure.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional elevational view of a modification of the closure of this invention with the fingers in non-depressed position.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the closure of HG- URE' 6 with the fingers in depressed position.

In brief, this invention comprises a closure having a top panel which is domed outwardly (i.e., away from the interior of a container to which the closure is afiixed) and which has a plurality of grasping fingers depending generally inwardly from the domed panel toward the container interior. The fingers may be angled slightly so that their respective free ends point toward the axis of the closure when the domed portion is in its normal position. Flexing of the resilient domed portion toward the container interior causes the fingers to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said domed portion thereby causing their free ends to become more greatly spaced apart. Upon release of the external pressure, the domed portion, by virtue of its resiliency, will flex upwardly thereby causing the free ends of the fingers to return to their original positions. If such flexing is accomplished While the container to which the closure is aflixed is inverted, articles contained therein will fall into the open fingers and be retained when the fingers are closed.

Referring now to the drawings, there is provided a closure generally designated 10 aflixed to the mouth of a container 12. For purposes of illustration, the container is shown as containing pills or capsules 13. The closure comprises a top panel portion 14 having a depending annular skirt 16. The skirt 16 is provided with internal threads 18, or other suitable means as is well known in the art, for attaching the closure 10 to the container 12. The top panel 14 is provided with a central resilient portion 2t? which is domed axially outwardly away from the interior of the container 12. A plurality of fingers 22 depend inwardly from the concave surface of said resilient domed portion 20 toward the container interior. The spacing between the free ends of the respective fingers 22 is suificiently small as compared with the pills 13 or other articles in the container that the fingers 22 will frictionally engage and retain any article positioned between said fingers.

The fingers 22 may be momentarily opened up or spread apart by applying external pressure to the resilient domed portion to flex it inwardly toward the interior of the container; for example, as shown in FIG- URE 2, by the consumer pressing such portion with his finger (shown in phantom lines). Upon release of the external pressure, the domed portion, by virtue of its resiliency, will return to its original position.

If desired, the closure may be provided with a pedestal 24 depending from the center of the domed portion 20 to insure that only a single pill 13 or other article is permitted to fall into a position where it will be engaged by the fingers 22. As shown inFIGURE 5, the stub 24 may be omitted if the size of the pill 13 or other article is sutficiently large or if the article being dispensed is of such a nature that a plurality will normally be dispensed at each use.

In operation, when the consumer desires to remove a pill 13 or other article from the container 12 he merely inverts the container from its normal position, as shown in FIGURE 1, to an inverted position as shown in FIG- URE 2. While the container 12 is thus inverted, he depresses the resilient domed portion 20 to flex the same inwardly toward the container interior. Such flexing causes the fingers 22 to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with the domed portion to thereby open up or become more greatly spaced apart than when the domed portion 2% was in its original position. The user then releases the pressure on the domed portion and such domed portion, by virtue of its resiliency, will spring away from the container interior to assume its original position. As a result, the fingers 22 will then again fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with the domed portion and attempt to return to the position of FIGURE 1. However, because of the fact. that the pills or other articles are larger than the space normally left by the fingers 22, such fingers will then engage and retain the pill 13 in frictional engagement thereb-etween. The closure 10 may then be removed from the container 12 and the pill 13 removed by again depressing the domed portion 2%.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 and 7, reference numeral 30 denotes a closure affixed to the mouth 31 of a container 32. The closure 30 comprises a top panel portion 33 and a depending attaching annular skirt 34. The skirt 34 is provided with internal threads 35 or other suitable means for attaching the closure 30 to the container 32. The top panel portion 33 is provided with a resilient portion 36 which is domed axially outwardly away from the interior of the closure 31) and container 32 A plurality of fingers 3'7 depend inwardly from the concave surface 38 of the resilient domed portion as toward the closure and container interior. The spacing and ar rangement of the fingers 3'7 is the same as the spacing andarrangement of the fingers 22 as shown in FIGURE 1. Depending from the interior of the closure fall and axially outwardly from the domed portion 36 is an annular elongated flange 4.0. The flange 4% is constructed and arranged to project into the mouth 3'1 of the container 32 substantially parallel to the axes of the closure and container 32. The function of flange 44) serves to limit the outward projection of fingers 37 when the domed portion .36 is depressed, as is more clearly shown in FIGURE 7. In the utilization of a relatively wide-mouth container, the .fingers 37 will be stopped in their outward projection to insure pick-up by the fingers of the desired number of pills or capsules contained within the container 32.

If desired, a sealing gasket may be utilized in sealing the container 32, as for example, a flexible sealing flange 41 may be provided between the interior of the skirt 3% and the depending flange 44).

It is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made in this closure without departing from its spirit and scope which is to be limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dispensing closure comprising a top panel, an annular skirt depending from said top panel, and means for attaching said closure to a container, said top panel having a centralresilient portion domed axially outwardly from the container to which the closure is affixcd, said resilient domed portion adapted to be flexed inwardly toward said container interior, a plurality of fingers depending from the interior surface of said resilient domed portion, said fingers adapted to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said resilient domed portion to increase the distance between their respective free ends upon the inward flexing of said domed portion.

2. A dispensing closure comprising a top panel, an annular skirt depending from said top panel, and means for attaching said closure to a container, said top panel having a central resilient portion domed axially outwardly from the container to which the closure is aifixed, said resilient domed portion adapted to be flexed inwardly toward said container interior, a pedestal and a plurality of fingers depending from the interior surface of said resilient domed portion, said pedestal positioned substantially centrally of the resilient domed portion and of the fingers, said fingers adapted to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said domed portion to increase the distance between their respective free ends upon the inward flexing of said domed portion.

3. A dispensing closure comprising a top panel, an annular skirt depending from said top panel, and means for attachnig said closure to a container, said top panel having a central resilient portion domed axially outwardly from the plane defined by the periphery of said top panel, said resilient domed portion adapted to be flexed inwardly toward said plane, a plurality of fingers depending from the concave surface of said resilient domed portion, said fingers positioned near the periphery of said domed portion and angled with their respective free ends converging toward the longitudinal axis of said closure, said fingers adapted to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said domed portion to increase the dis tance between their respective free ends upon the inward flexing of said domed portion.

4 A dispensing closure comprising a top panel, an annular skirt depending from said top panel, and means for attaching said closure to a container, said top panel having a central resilient portion domed axially outwardly from the plane defined by the periphery of said top panel, said resilient domed portion adapted to be flexed inwardly toward said plane, a plurality of fingers depending from the concave surface of said resilient domed portion, said fingers positioned near the periphery of said domed portion and angled with their respective free ends converging toward the longitudinal axis of said closure, said fingers adapted to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said domed portion to increase the distance between their respective free ends upon the inward flexing of said domed portion, and a pedestal depending from the concave surface of said resilient domed portion positioned centrally of said fingers.

5. For use in combination with a container having articles therein adapted to be supported by frictional enrent, a dispensing closure comprising a top panel, an annular skirt depending from said top panel, and means for attaching said closure to said container, said top panel having a central resilient portion domed axially outwardly from said container, said resilient domed portion adapted to be flexed inwardly toward said container interior, a plurality of fingers depending from the interior surface of said resilient domed portion and positioned to frictionally engage and support articles positioned therebetween, said fingers adapted to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said domed portion to increase the distance between their respective free ends upon the inward flexing r of said domed portion to permit at least one of said articl s to be positioned between said fingers for engagement therebetween upon the outward flexing of Said resilient domed portion.

6. The closure as defined in claim 5 wherein a pedestal depends from the interior surface of said resilient domed portion, said pedestal being positioned between said fingers.

7. A dispensing closure comprising a top panel, an annular skirt depending from said top panel, and means for attaching said closure to a container, said top panel having a central resilient portion domed axially outwardly from the container to which the closure is afiixed, said resilient domed portion adapted to be flexed inwardly toward said container interior, a plurality of fingers depending from the interior surface of said resilient domed portion, said fingers adapted to fulcrum about their respective points of juncture with said resilient domed portion to increase the distance between their respective free ends upon the inward flexing of said domed portion, and an annular flange depending from the underside of said panel portion axially outward of said domed portion.

References tilted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,010,600 11/61 Jolly 221-245 FOREIGN PATENTS 822,250 l2/37 France.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSING CLOSURE COMPRISNG A TOP PANEL, AN ANNULAR SKIRT DEPENDING FROM SAID TOP PANEL, SAID MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID CLOSURE TO A CONTAINER, SAID TOP PANEL HAVING A CENTRAL RESILIENT PORTION DOMED AXIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE CONTAINER TO WHICH THE CLOSURE IS AFFIXED, SAID RESILIENT DOMED PORTION ADAPTED TO BE FLEXED INWARDLY TOWARD SAID CONTAINER INTERIOR, A PLURALITY OF FINGERS DEPENDING FROM THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF SAID RESILIENT DOMED PORTION, SAID FINGERS ADAPTED TO FULCRUM ABOUT THEIR RESPECTIVE POINTS OF JUNCTURE WITH SAID RESILIENT DOOMED PORTION TO INCREASE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEIR RESPECTIVE FREE ENDS UPON THE INWARD FLEXING OF SAID DOMED PORTION. 